Infantino: $20bn FIFA Enterprise will transform football worldwide

FIFA President Gianni Infantino has defended the proposed creation of the FIFA Forward Enterprise (FFE), a new commercial subsidiary valued at $20 billion, insisting the initiative is “an opportunity, not an obligation” after it sparked strong opposition from football’s regional confederations.

The proposal, unveiled on Tuesday, would establish a subsidiary to oversee the commercial rights of FIFA’s flagship men’s and women’s competitions, including the FIFA World Cup, FIFA Women’s World Cup and Club World Cup.

Under the plan, FIFA intends to sell up to 20 percent of the new entity to external investors for an estimated $4.2 billion, with the proceeds expected to be distributed among FIFA’s 211 member associations to support football development worldwide.

However, the proposal faced criticism from several continental confederations, which said they were blindsided by FIFA’s plans to introduce private investment into the commercial management of the sport.

Responding to the backlash, Infantino stressed that the proposal remains subject to consultation and approval by FIFA’s member associations and is not a mandatory reform.

“FIFA Forward Enterprise, or FFE, is actually a proposal, an offer. It’s part of a democratic process – a consultation process, and, above all, it is an opportunity but not an obligation,” Infantino said.

“It is a golden opportunity to turbocharge the development of the game globally. But again, it is just an offer, not an obligation.”

Infantino argued that football has yet to fully realise the commercial value of its biggest competitions and said the new entity would unlock additional revenue that could be reinvested across the global game.

He maintained that any decision would require approval from both the FIFA Council and the organisation’s 211 member associations through a democratic voting process.

According to the FIFA president, commercialising the governing body’s assets requires specialist expertise beyond FIFA’s traditional role of governing and developing football.

“Capturing that value requires additional expertise, additional insight, distinct from governing and developing the sport,” he said.

If approved, the FIFA Forward Enterprise would manage the commercial operations of FIFA-owned competitions, including sponsorship, broadcasting, licensing and new business ventures, while FIFA would retain full control over the governance of the sport.

“It would simply commercialise and organise all FIFA-owned competitions along with sponsorship, broadcast, licensing and new ventures for the benefit of FIFA’s 211 member associations,” Infantino added.

The FIFA president also sought to reassure supporters that the proposal would not compromise the integrity of football or FIFA’s independence.

“FIFA obviously continues to govern football without any external interference,” he said.

“And the flagship tournaments it organises, like the FIFA World Cup and the FIFA Women’s World Cup, will always remain.”

Infantino insisted that football supporters around the world would ultimately benefit from the additional investment generated through the initiative.

“Fans from everywhere in the world would gain immeasurably from this game-changing potential because it will transform football in their countries,” he said.

FIFA is one of the world’s wealthiest sporting organisations, generating billions of dollars in revenue primarily through broadcasting rights, sponsorship agreements and commercial partnerships linked to the men’s and women’s World Cups.

The governing body believes the proposed FIFA Forward Enterprise would maximise the long-term commercial value of its competitions while increasing investment in football development across its global membership.